This article shows you how to increase the amount of RAM that Minecraft can use while running. This trick is useful for solving the problems of the program related to memory. If you are using your version of Minecraft, allocating more RAM is a very simple step since it is enough to change some settings of the launcher (from version 1.6 to 2.0. X). To trace the version of the launcher in use (the program through which you start Minecraft), just look at the number shown in the lower left corner of the program window. If you need to change the RAM dedicated to a Minecraft server, you will need to create a configuration file whose purpose is to start a Minecraft instance with the desired amount of RAM. Generally speaking, you should never allocate more than half or two-thirds of the total RAM installed on your computer to the Minecraft process.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Using Minecraft Version 2.0. X
Step 1. Check the amount of RAM available on your computer
This information is essential to be able to calculate how much memory you can dedicate to Minecraft. To find out how much RAM is installed on your system, follow these instructions:
- Windows systems - Open the menu Start, select the icon Settings gear shape, choose the item System, access the tab Information on in the menu, then examine the value listed under "Installed RAM".
- Mac - Access the menu Apple, choose the option About this Mac, then locate the number listed under "Memory".
Step 2. Update the version of Java installed on your system
To do this, access the official Java website using the URL https://www.java.com/it/download/ and press the "Free Java Download" button under the number of the latest version of the program available. This way, you can be sure that you have the most up-to-date version of Java available and that you are ready to allocate more RAM for Minecraft.
If you are using a Windows system, make sure you download the correct Java version based on your computer architecture (32-bit or 64-bit)
Step 3. Start the Minecraft launcher
To do this, double-click the game icon.
If in the lower left corner (or in the upper part) of the launcher window there is the number "1.6…", please refer to this method of the article
Step 4. Press the Startup Options button
It is placed at the top of the window.
Step 5. Make sure the Advanced Settings slider is active
It's located at the top right of the Minecraft Startup Options page. If the cursor in question is not green, select it with the mouse to activate it, then continue with the procedure described in this method.
Step 6. Select the game profile you want to edit
If you only have one option on the page, you simply need to select the one you see.
Step 7. Activate the JVM Arguments item cursor
Move it from left to right so that it takes on a green color.
Step 8. Change the amount of RAM to dedicate to running Minecraft
Inside the "JVM Arguments" text field is a series of parameters, the first should be -Xm1G. This is the parameter that tells the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) how much RAM to use to run the Minecraft program. Change the number "1" to the one relating to the amount of memory you want to dedicate to the game. Remember that this value is expressed in GB.
For example, if the parameter in question reports the value "-Xm4G", it means that 4 GB of RAM will be dedicated to running Minecraft
Step 9. Press the Save button
It is located in the lower left part of the window. At this point, Minecraft will be able to use the amount of RAM indicated in the profile.
Method 2 of 3: Using Minecraft Version 1.6. X
Step 1. Check the amount of RAM available on your computer
This information is essential to be able to calculate how much memory you can dedicate to Minecraft. To find out how much RAM is installed on your system, follow these instructions:
- Windows systems - Open the menu Start, select the icon Settings gear shape, choose the item System, access the tab Information on in the menu, then examine the value listed under "Installed RAM".
- Mac - Access the menu Apple, choose the option About this Mac, then locate the number listed under "Memory".
Step 2. Update the version of Java installed on your system
To do this, access the official Java website using the URL https://www.java.com/it/download/ and press the "Free Java Download" button under the number of the latest version of the program available. This way, you can be sure that you have the most up-to-date version of Java available and that you are ready to allocate more RAM for Minecraft.
If you are using a Windows system, make sure you are downloading the correct Java version, based on your computer architecture (32-bit or 64-bit)
Step 3. Start the Minecraft launcher
If you are using the 1.6. X version of the game, you will be able to change the amount of RAM to dedicate to Minecraft directly from the launcher. If you are using an older version, please refer to the next section of the article.
If the launcher window shows the version number "2.0…" in the lower left corner, please refer to this article method
Step 4. Select the game profile you normally use
To do this, press the button Edit Profile, then choose one of the profiles from the list that appears.
Step 5. Select the "JVM Arguments" checkbox
It is located in the "Java Settings (Advanced)" section of the configuration settings window of the chosen profile. In this way, you will have the possibility to enter additional parameters to modify the Java environment in which the Minecraft program will run.
Step 6. Proceed to allocate more RAM to the Minecraft process
By default, the game starts with 1GB of RAM available. To increase this value simply type this command -Xmx [number_GB] G replacing the parameter number_GB with the number of gigabytes you want to dedicate to running the game. For example, if you need to allocate 18 GB to run Minecraft, you will need to type the command -Xmx18G.
Step 7. Save the changes made to the profile
To do this, press the Save Profile button. At this point, the selected game profile will use the amount of RAM indicated in the configuration settings.
Method 3 of 3: Using a Minecraft Server
Step 1. Check the amount of RAM available on your computer
This information is essential to be able to calculate how much memory you can dedicate to Minecraft. To find out how much RAM is installed on your system, follow these instructions:
- Windows systems - Open the menu Start, select the icon Settings gear shape, choose the item System, access the tab Information on from the menu, then examine the value listed under "Installed RAM".
- Mac - Access the menu Apple, choose the option About this Mac, then locate the number listed under "Memory".
Step 2. Update the version of Java installed on your system
To do this, access the official Java website using the URL https://www.java.com/it/download/ and press the "Free Java Download" button under the number of the latest version of the program available. This way, you can be sure that you have the most up-to-date version of Java available and that you are ready to allocate more RAM for Minecraft.
If you are using a Windows system, make sure you download the correct Java version based on your computer architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). If you're using a 32-bit operating system, you'll only be able to allocate 1GB of RAM to Minecraft
Step 3. Navigate to the folder where the Minecraft server is installed
This is the directory where the Minecraft_server.exe file that you select when you want to start the server is stored.
The easiest way to find the location of this file is to search your computer using the keyword "Minecraft_server" and then access its path
Create a new text document inside the folder where the Minecraft server executable file is located. Access the card Home on the ribbon (Windows systems) or the menu File (on Mac), choose the option New item (Windows systems) or New one (on Mac), then select the entry Text document. This will create a new empty text file inside the current folder where the minecraft_server.exe file is also present.
Insert in the newly created text document the code to allocate more RAM memory to the Minecraft server. Type the following text according to your operating system:
Windows
java -XmxMnumber -XmsMNumber -exe Minecraft_Server.exe -o true
PAUSE
Mac OS X
#! / bin / bash
cd "$ (dirname" $ 0 ")"
java -XmsnumberM -XmxnumberM -exe Minecraft_Server.exe -o true
Linux
#! / bin / sh
BINDIR = $ (dirname "$ (readlink -fn" $ 0 ")")
cd "$ BINDIR"
java -XmsnumberM -XmxnumberM -exe Minecraft_Server.exe -o true
Replace the number parameter with the amount of RAM (in megabytes) you want to allocate to the Minecraft process. For example, if you need to dedicate 2 GB of memory to the server, you will need to specify the following value: 2048. To allocate 3 GB of RAM you will have to enter 3072. To allocate 4 GB of RAM you will have to enter the value 4096. To allocate 5 GB of RAM you will have to type the value 5120
Save the configuration file. If you are using a Windows system, save the document with the ".bat" extension. To do this, go to the menu Fileand select the option Save with name…. Change the file extension from ".txt" to ".bat". If you are using a Mac, save the file with the ".command" extension. If you are using a Linux system, save it with the ".sh" extension.
If you are using a Windows computer, you may need to make the file extensions visible before you are able to view and change the file extension in question
Now run the newly created file to start Minecraft. The file you just created is nothing more than the new launcher of your Minecraft server. Starting the latter via the newly created ".bat" (Windows systems), ".command" (Mac) or ".sh" (Linux systems) file, it will automatically allocate the specified amount of RAM memory.
